Folding machinery.



PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

B. H. COTTRELL. FOLDING MACHINERY. APPLICATION FILED JAN27, 1905.

4 SHEETSSHEET 1.

No. 818,611. PATENTED APR. 24, 1906 E. H. OOTTRELL.

FOLDING MACHINERY.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 27, 1905 4 SHEETS-SHEET 2,

PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

E. H. GDTTRELL.

FOLDING MACHINERY.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN.27,1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3,

E. H. COTTRELL.

PATENTED APR. 24, 1906.

FOLDING MACHINERY.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.27,1905.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.ElXtAR H. OOTTRELL, OF STONINGTON, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO O. B. OOTTRELL & SONS COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

FOLDING MACHINERY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 24, 1906.

Application filed January 2'], 1905. Serial No. 242,883.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, EDGAR H. COTTRELL, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Stonington, in the county of New London and State of Connecticut, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Folding Machinery, of which the following is a specifica tion.

Machinery embodying this invention in its entirety comprises a cylinder on which sheets are collected in groups, a second cylinder on which a plurality of the so-collected groups are assembled together in register with each other and which is furnished with foldingblades, and a third cylinder furnished with foldingjaws cooperating with said foldingblades to fold together the said plurality of groups assembled on the second cylinder.

The invention consists in the combinations hereinafter described and claimed, and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which said cylinders, foldingblades, and foldingjaws constitute elements, the said drawings representing an example of the invention in which groups, consisting each of two sheets and hereinafter referred to as couplets, are collected upon the first cylinder, and such couplets are assembled in twos, one upon another, on the second cylinder, making thereon assemblages of four sheets, which are all folded together by the cooperation with the folding-blades of the second cylinder of the jaws of the third one, from which they are delivered folded in eight leaves, suitable for making open-edged sixteen-page signatures.

Figure l in the drawings represents a side elevation of those parts of the folding machinery which constitute the invention; Fig. 2, a side view corresponding with Fig. 1, taken just within the side framing and show ing the several cylinder-shafts and other parts partly in section; Fig. 2 an end view of the co'llecting-cylinder and side view of the mechanism for opening its grippers; Fig. 3, an end view of the second cylinder and side views of the cams for opening its grippers. Fig. 3 is a side view, partly in section, of the cams and operating mechanism for working the folding-jaws; Fig. 3 a side view of part of the folding-cylinder and the mechanism for operating the folding-jaws. Fig. 1 is a sectional view corresponding with Figs. 1 and 2, taken transversely through the several cylinders; Fig. 5, a side view, partly in section, of the cams and the mechanism actuated thereby for operating the folding-blades; Fig. 6, a diagram of the gearing for the several cylinders and for some of the cams employed.

designates the framing in or on which are the bearings for the shaft 11 of the first cylinder 11, hereinafter termed the collecting-cylinder, the shaft 12* of the second cylinder 12, hereinafter termed the assembling-cylinder, and the shaft 13* of the third cylinder 13, hereinafter termed the folding-cylinder. Above the collectingcylinder 11 are rotary cutters 14 for cutting into sheets of proper length a web proceeding from a perfecting printing-machine or from any other source.

The collecting-cylinder 11, which has a circumference a little in excess of the length of two sheets cut by the cutters 14, is furnished with two sets of grippers 15 at opposite points in its circumference. The assembling-cylinder 12, which has a circumference one-half greater than the collecting-cylinder, has three sets of grippers 16 at equal distances from each other. The several sets of grippers are such as are commonly used on the cylinders of printing and folding machinery and are closed in the usual way by springs, which it has not been thought necessary to describe with reference to the drawings. The assembling-cylinder is also furnished with three tucking or folding blades 17, arranged between the sets of grippers 16. The foldingcylinder 13, which has a circumference twice that of the collecting-cylinder, is furnished with one set of folding-jaws 18 19, which cooperate with each of the folding-blades 17 in turn to fold the sheets which have been assembled in fours on the cylinder 12. The folding-jaws 18 19 and the tucking or folding blades 17 are such as form the subject of United States Patents Nos. 629,928 and 668,719, and therefore will only be herein described sufficiently to explain the present invention.

Between the cutters 14 and the collectingcylinder 11 there is a guide 20 for the leading end of the web and for the cut sheets. On one side of the cylinder 11 there are rollers 21 011 a shaft 22 for keeping the sheets to the said cylinder, the said shaft having its bearings in or on the framing. Above said cylinder there are rollers 23, which also serve to keep the sheets close to said cylinder. The rollers 23 are carried by arms 24 on a rockshaft 25, which is in stationary bearings and on which there is another arm 25*, to which is applied a spring 26, abutting against a stud 27 on the framing. Above the assemblingcylinder 12 there are also rollers 28 for keep ing the sheets close to the cylinder, the said rollers being carried by the arms 28* of a rock-shaft 29, which is in fixed bearings and on which there is another arm 30, to which is applied a spring 31, abutting against a stud 32 on the framing. Running around and driven by the folding-cylinder are tapes 33, which also run under one, 34, of a pair of rollers 34 35, the shaft of which is arranged in bearings in or on the framing below the cylinder. These tapes also run around tightening-pulleys 36, carried by the arms 37 of a rock-shaft 38, which is in bearings in or on the framing. The folding-jaws 18 19 and the tucking or folding blades 17 have at suitable intervals in their length notches or recesses of sufficient width and depth to allow the said tapes 33 to pass through them. Under said cylinder 13 there is another set of tapes 33*, which run around the other roller of the pair above mentioned and around pulleys 39 on a shaft 40, running in bearings in or on the framing. These tapes are also provided with tightening-pulleys 41 on arms 42, depending from a rock-shaft 43, supported on bearings in or on the framing. The two sets of tapes serve to take between them the folded assemblages of sheets from the foldingcylinder 13. Below the rollers 34 35 there are represented rotary slitting-cutters 53 54 of a well-known kind for slitting the folded assemblages of sheets crosswise of their fold into as many sixteen-page signatures as may be desired, the number of said signatures depending upon the number of cutters 53 54 on their shafts 53* 54*.

The three cylinders 11 12 13 are so geared together that the assembling cylinder 12, which, it will now be understood, is also a tucking-cylinder, makes two-thirds of a revolution for each revolution of the collectingcylinder 11, or, in other words, that the collectin cylinder makes one and a half revolutions or one of the assembling-cylinder, and the folding-cylinder 13 makes one revolution for every two of the collecting-cylinder or one for every one and one-third of the assemblingcylinder 12. The train of gearing which includes the several cylinders is represented in the diagram Fig. 6, the said train deriving motion from a gear 44 on one of the cuttershafts 14*, which rotate at the same speed as the collecting-cylinder, the cutters being organized to out two sheets during each revolution and the collecting-cylinder being organized to take two sheets during each revolution. The gear 44 meshes with and drives a gear 45 on a fixed stud 45*, and this gear 45 meshes with and drives a gear 46 on a fixed stud 47. This gear 46 meshes with a gear 48 on the folding-cylinder 13, and so drives the latter, which in turn drives the assembling and tucking cylinder 12 through gears 49 50 on their respective shafts 13* 12*. The gear 50 also meshes with a gear 51 on the collecting-cylinder shaft, and so drives the latter cylinder. The said gear 51 meshes with a gear 52 on the roller-shaft 22, and so drives the latter.

For opening the grippers 15 of the collecting-cylinder 11 to receive the sheets there is a stationary cam 55, attached to the fram ing, rollers 56, connected with the shafts of said grippers, running over these cams to effeet the opening in a manner well understood by those skilled in printing and folding maohinery, each set of these grippers being opened during every revolution of the cylinder. For opening said grippers for the re lease of the couplets of sheets collected upon said cylinder there is a removable cam 57, carried by the arm 58 of a rock-shaft 59, supported in the framing. This cam is shown in dotted outline in Fig. 2 and in a detached side view, Fig. 2. The said cam is lowered into its operative position once during every other revolution of the collecting-cylinder, and this takes place every other time that the roller 56 of each set of grippers 15 is about to pass it. The lowering of the said cam to said position and its upward movement out of said position are effected by means of a cam 60 on a rotary shaft 61, having fiXed bearings in or on the framing, the said shaft being driven from the shaft 13* of the folding-cylinder by a gear 48 on said shaft 13*, a gear 63 on said shaft 61, and an intermediate gear 64, running loosely on a fixed stud 65, secured in the framing, the said gears being so proportioned that the said cam makes one revolution for each revolution of the folding-cylinder and for every two revolutions of the collecting-cylinder. The said cam 60 actuates the cam 57 through a rod 66, connected with an arm 67 on the rock-shaft 59.

For openin the grippers 16 of the assembling and tuc ing cylinder 12 for the reception of the couplets of sheets from the collecting-cylinder there is a shiftable cam 68 (see Figs. 2 and 3) on the arm 69 of a short rockshaft 69*, which has suitable bearings in or on the framing. This cam is thrown upward to its operative position, in which the rollers 70, attached to the shafts of the grippers 16, pass in contact with it for opening the said grippers, and afterward thrown downward out of said position by the connection of an arm 71 on its rock-shaft 69* with an arm 72 on the rock-shaft 59, before mentioned, by

15 of the collecting-cylinder are opened at the same time as they pass each other to transfer the couplets of sheets from the one cylinder to the other. For opening said grippers 16 to release the sheets from them as they are taken from the tucking-blades of the cylinder 12 by the jaws of the folding-cylinder 13 there is a shiftable cam 73, (see Figs. 2 and 3,) carried by the arm 74 of a short rockshaft 75, which is arranged in a fixed bearing on the framing. This cam is lowered into its operative position, in which the rollers on the shafts of the grippers 16 pass in contact with it, and raised out of such position by means of a cam 76 on a rotary shaft 77, arranged in bearings on the framing, the said cam 76 operating through a rod 78, connected with an arm 79 on the rock-shaft 75. The rotary shaft 77 is driven from the shaft 12* of the assembling and tucking cylinder by means of a gear 80 on the latter and a gear 81 on the former, the said gears being so proportioned that the said cam 76 makes one revolution for every two of the collecting-cylinder.

The tucking and folding blades 17, which correspond with the folding-blades of Patents Nos. 629,928 and 668,719, hereinbeforc referred to, except that there are three of them in their cylinder, are each set in one of as many bars or stocks 82, formed with arms 83, on which are trunnions 84, which are pivoted into the two corresponding arms 85 of rockshafts 86, one for each blade-stock, which are pivoted to the ends of the cylinder 12. Tlrese rock-shafts and the connections of the bladestocks S2 with them and the mechanism for projecting the blades from the cylinder are shown in Fig. 5, in which the circumference of the cylinder is represented in dot-and-dash outline, the cylinder itself being omitted from said view, because if appearing it would conceal the blade-operating mechanism. For the purpose of projecting said blades from the cylinder to produce the tucking of the sheets into the folding-jaws 18 19, which commences the folding operation, there is a shiftable cam 87, formed on a lever 88, which swings on a fixed fulcrum 89, secured in the framing, This cam is held normally out of its operative position until the time for projecting a blade by means of a pushing-spring 89* abutting against a stud 90 on the framing; but every time that, by the revolution of the cylinders 12 and 13, a blade and the folding-jaws 18 19 are caused to arrive opposite each other the said cam 87 is shifted to such a position that a roller 91 on the arm 92 of the rock-shaft 86 before mentioned runs down it, and so produces the necessary movement of said rock-shaft to project the blade. This shifting of the cam 87 into position is effected by means of a rotary cam 93 on the shaft 77 before described, the said rotary cam acting upon said cam 87 through a yoke-rod 94 connected with the latter. A pushingspring 95, applied between the arm 96 of each rock-shaft 86 and an abutment-stud 97 on the cylinder, serves to hold the blade withdrawn into the cylinder 12 until the proper time for its projection by the cam 87. The turning of the blades on their trunnions 84 to move them between positions radial to and tangential to the cylinder is effected by a sta tionary cam 98 98*, arranged at that end of the cylinder which appears in Figs. 2 and 3. This cam, which has a groove 98* in its face which is presented toward the cylinder, is shown partly in section and partly in dotted outline in Fig. 2 and is represented in Fig. 3 in dotanddash outline. The said cam is engaged to operate on each blade-stock 82 through an arm 99 on one of the trunnions S4 of the latter, the said arm being furnished with a roller 100, which runs in the camgroove 98*.

The one set of jaws 18 19 of the folding-cylinder is organized precisely as in Patents Nos. 629,928 and 668,71 9, hereinbefore referred to, the main jaw 18 being pivoted at each end by a pivot 101 (see Figs. 2, 3, 211'1(l3 )111t0Sl()t ted plates 101*, attached to the cylinderheads, the jaw 19 being pivoted to 18 by a pivot 102 at each end. One of the said pivots 101 of the main jaw is furnished with an arm 103, on which is a roller 104, running in the groove 105 of a stationary cam 105 106 for turning the jaws 18 19 together toward and from the blades of the cylinder 12. One of the pivots 102 of the jaw 19 is furnished with an arm 107, on which is a roller 108, (shown in Fig. 3 and in dotted outline in Fig. 3,)which runs over a stationary cam .109 for giving the opening movement to the jaw 19 for the reception of the tucks produced between the jaws 18 19 by the foldingblades. There is another stationary cam 1 10 on the opposite side of the machine from cam 109, and the other pivot 102 of the jaw 19 is provided with an arm like 107 before mentioned, which arm is provided with a similar roller 108, which runs under the stationary cam 11 0 to produce the opening of the jaws to release the folded assembled sheets from the cylinder to the delivery-tapes 33 33*. The jaws are kept closed at all times, but when receiving the tuck and delivering the folded sheets, by a spring 111 between the arm 103 and an arm 112 on one of the pivots 102 of the jaw 19. The cooperation of each of the folding-blades with the one of folding-jaws is the same as in the patents hereinbe'fore referred to and has been herein so fully described only because it is so intimately associated with the sheetassembling mechanism of the cylinder 12 as to require its representation in the drawings.

The construction aml'individual operations of the several parts of the machinery having ICC IIO

now been described, the explanation of their successive operations will now be proceeded with.

During every revolution of the collectingcylinder 11 two sheets from the cutters will be collected upon the said cylinder, one sheet by each set of its grippers 1 5, which are opened at the proper times by passing the fixed cam 55. The first'sheet received by each set of grippers is retained on said cylinder until a second sheet, to form what has been hereinbefore referred to as a couplet, has been taken upon the first one, because the grippers are opened by their movable releasing-cam 57 only once during every other revolution of their cylinder while they meet and pass a set of grippers 16 on the assemblingcylinder, which are opened at the same time by their movable opening-cam 68, which is thrown into operative position at the same time as said cam 57. Two consecutive sets of the three sets of grippers on the assembling-cylinder receive during two-thirds of a revolution of said cylinder two couplets from the collectingcylinderthat is to say, each of the two receives one couplet; but during the next two-thirds of a revolution the assembling-cylinder receives no couplets, owing to the order in which the collections are made upon and taken away from the collectingcyl inder. Hence after two couplets have been taken by the assembling-cylinder during twothirds of a revolution it is not until said cylinder has made another two-thirds of a revolution that it takes from the collecting-cylinder the first couplet for the next assemblage, receiving the same on an empty section. The

second couplet for this assemblage is taken directly on the couplet previously taken, thus completing an assemblage of four sheets, which are brought in proper time to the folding-cylinder 13 to be folded together by the cooperation of the jaws 18 19 of the latter with the folding-blade next behind the set of grippers 16 which have received the four sheets. The three sets of grippers on the assembling-cylinder operate each in its turn, as above described but it may be understood that on first starting the machine three revolutions of the foldingcylinder have to be made before the delivery of complete folded assemblages of four sheets, because the first two collections on the assembling-cylinder will consist of less than four sheets. The folded assemblages of sheets delivered from the folding-cylinder by the tapes 33 33* may be cut by the cutters 53 54 into any number of signatures, according to the number of cutters on the shafts 53* 54*. Suppose, for example, there are three of said cutters. A sixtyfour-page sheet received by the cutters 14 from a perfecting printing press, printed thirty-two pages on each side, will be cut into four by said cutters to form four sixteen-page signatures from the sixty-fourpage sheet.

on the folding-cylinder the number of sheets in a collection made on the collecting-cylinder and the number of assemblages of such collections made on the assembling-cylinder and folded may be increased.

That I claim as my invention is 1. In a folding-machine, the combination of a collecting-cylinder for making collections of sheets one upon another, a second cylinder for assembling together one upon another a plurality of so made collections, a third cylinder and folding devices on the second and I third cylinders arranged to coact for folding together the so assembled plurality of collections.

2. In a folding-machine, the combination of a collecting-cylinder for making collections of sheets one upon another, a second cylinder for assembling together one upon another a plurality of the so made collections, a third cylinder, and a folding-blade and foldingjaws on said second and third cylinders respectively for folding together the so assembled plurality of collections.

3. In a folding-machine, the combination of a collecting-cylinder for making collections of sheets one upon another, an assemblingcylinder for assembling one upon another a plurality of the so made collections, foldingblades upon said assembling-cylinder, and a folding-cylinder furnished with jaws cooperating with said blades for folding together the so assembled plurality of collections.

4. In a folding-machine, the combination of a collecting-cylinder for making collections of sheets one upon another, a second cylinder for assembling together one upon another a plurality of such collections, a third cylinder, a folding-blade and folding-jaws on said second and third cylinders respectively for foldin together the so assembled plurality of co lections, and a cutter for slitting the folded plurality crosswise of the fold into a number of signatures.

5. In a folding-machine, the combination of a cylinder for making collections of sheets one upon another, a second cylinder for assembling together one upon another a plurality of such collections, grippers on said cylinders for receiving sheets to be folded, a third cylinder, folding-blades on said second cylinder, folding-jaws on said third cylinder cooperating with said folding-blades, camactuated mechanism for opening said gripers for transmitting the collections of sheets from the first-mentioned cylinder to the sec ond one and for delivering the assemblages of sheets from the second to the folding-jaws, and cam-actuated mechanism for opening said jaws for the entrance thereinto of the folding-blades and the delivery therefrom of the folded assemblages of sheets.

6. In a folding-machine, the combination of a cylinder for making collections of sheets one upon another, a second cylinder for assembling together one upon another a plurality of such collections, grippers on said cylinders for receiving sheets to be folded, shiftable cams and means for placing them in position for opening the grippers of said cylinders for the delivery of collections of sheets from the first-mentioned one and their reception and assemblage by the second one, a third cylinder, folding-blades on the second cylinder, folding-jaws upon the third cylinder cooperating with said folding-blades, a shiftable cam and means for placing the same in position for opening the grippers of the second cylinder to deliver the assembled collections of sheets therefrom to said blade and grippers, and cams for opening said foldingjaws for the entrance of the folding-blades thereinto and for the delivery of the folded assemblages of sheets therefrom.

7. In a folding-machine, a collecting-cylinder, an assemblingcylinder, means for rotating the assembling-cylinder two-thirds of a revolution during each revolution of the collecting-cylinder, two sets of grippers on the collecting-cylinder and three sets of grippers on the assembling-cylinder, cam-actuated mechanism for causing each set of the grippers on the collecting-cylinder to collect a sheet every revolution and deliver two sheets every other revolution to the assemblingcylinder and cam-actuated mechanism for causing the grippers on the assembling-cylinder to complete their assemblages of two groups of two sheets from the collecting-cylinder every one and one-third revolution of the assembling-cylinder.

S. In a folding-machine, a collectingcylin der, an assembling-cylinder, a folding-cylinder, two sets of grippers on the collectingcylinder and three sets of grippers on the assembling-cylinder, folding devices on the assembling and folding cylinders, cam-actuated mechanism for causing each set of the grippers on the collecting-cylinder to collect a sheet every revolution and deliver two sheets every other revolution and camactuated mechanism for causing the grippers on the assembling-cylinder to complete their assemblages of two groups of two sheets from the collecting-cylinder and fold the same onto the folding-cylinder every one and one-third revolution of the assembling-cylinder.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention 1 have signed my name, in pres ence of two witnesses, this 19th day of January, 1905.

EDGAR I-I. COTIRIJLL. lVitnesses:

FREDK. HAYNES, HENRY THIEME. 

